BJP complains against St Xavier's College principal but Election Commission can do little

NEW DELHI: BJP may have rushed to Election Commission to protest against Frazer Mascarenhas, principal of Mumbai's St Xavier's College, but the poll watchdog feels there is little it can do in the matter save referring it to the education department of Maharashtra for a probe into alleged violation of service conduct rules through misuse of his position to indulge in political canvassing.

Mascarenhas cannot be charged with violating the model code of conduct as it applies only to candidates, political parties and their leaders.

Even Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act only restrains candidates, their agents or any other person authorized by the candidate or his agents from exercising undue influence on voters.

"Any action will depend on whether the one indulging in political activity or canvassing is bound by any service conduct rules ... in that case, we can write to the education department to take up the matter with the concerned authority that administers St Xavier's," a senior EC official told TOI.

"A private individual can canvass for any party but a principal of an affiliated college may be bound by certain service rules restraining him from supporting political activity," another EC functionary said.

BJP had approached election authorities in Maharashtra to protest against Mascarenhas using the official website of St Xavier's to slam the Gujarat model of development and praise UPA schemes.

According to former CEC N Gopalaswami, even if there are no conduct rules binding on Mascarenhas, the advice to students was an avoidable misadventure.

"As the head of an educational institution, he appears to have misused his position of trust with his students to impose his political view on them. His action amounts to taking advantage of the implicit trust that defines a guru-shishya relationship," he told TOI from Chennai.

Besides, Gopalaswami said, an educational institution cannot be used for political campaigning.